Elevator safety appliance.



No. 662,264. Patented Nov. 2o, |900.

J. G. GRACEY A. GFELLER. ELEVATUR SAFETY APPLIANCE.

(Appliation .led Mar. 16, 1900.)

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Patented Nov. 20,- |900. J.`G. GBACEY'GLA. GFELLER. I

ELEVATUR SAFETY APPLIANCE.

(Applicatiomled Mar. 16, 1900.)

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(No Model.)

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UNITE STATES l ATENT OFFICE.

JAMES G. GRAOEY AND ALFRED GFELLER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, AS-

SIGNORS TO THE POSITIVE ELEVATOR SAFETY COMPANY, OF SAME Y PLACE.

ELEVATOR SAFETY APPLIANCE.

SPECIFICATION forming' pm of Letters Patent No. 662,264, dated November 2o, 1900.

Application filed March 16, 1900. Serial No. 8,935. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that we, JAMES G. GRACEY and ALFRED GFELLER, citizens of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Elevator Safety Appliances, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

Oui-invention has relation toimprovemen ts in elevator safety appliances; and it consists in the novel arrangement and combination of parts more fully set forth in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a front elevation of the elevator-cage shown broken and a side elevation of the safety appliance to which the cage is coupled. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the safety appliance, thel cage being omitted. Fig. 3 is a general diagrammatic view of the shaft, cage, and safety appliance. Fig. 4 is an end view of the casting to which the pumps are secured. Fig. 5 is a middle vertical longitudinal section showing details of the air-reservoir and plunger operating therein and the buffer-lever broken away. Fig. 6 is an end view of the reservoir, the other parts being omitted from this View; and Figs. 7 and S are details showing in section the check and globe valves illustrated in elevation in Figs. 1 and 2.

The object of ourinvention is to provide a passenger or freight elevator with a pneumatic safety appliance which will positively arrest the drop of the cage should the cables supporting it break or give way and which will regulate the descent of the elevator under ordinary conditions, the maximum speed or rapidity of such descent being determined at the outset by the engineer.

In detail the present device may be described as follows:

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents an elevator-shaft, and 2 the cage or car traveling therein, the pulling-cable being designated by 3. Mounted exterior to and intermediate of the guide-timbers for the cage and located anywhere along the length of the shaft, but preferably between the first iioor and the basement, is a revolving drum 4, over which is wound several wraps of a cable 5, one end of which passes over a lower guiding-sheave 6 and is connected to the bottoni of the elevator-cage, and the other end passing over a guiding-sheave 7 at the top of the shaft and connected to the top of the cage to one side of the point of connection of the pulling-cable 3. From the connections described it is apparent that with the upward travel of the cage the latter will draw upon one end of the cable 5, and with the descent of the cage the latter will pull upon the opposite end of the cable 5, thus imparting rotation to the drum at all times. A sufficient number of wraps of the cable 5 are first passed about the drum to prevent slipping of the cable when either end thereof is Linder tension during the travel of the cage.

Carried by or forming a part of one of the heads of the drum is a gear-wheel S, which meshes with a pinion 9, carried by the shaft 10 of the air-pumps 1.1, (each provided with the usual air-inlet check-valve 11',) mounted on a common casting 12, which is bolted to a block 13, interposed between the longitudinal timbers 13, to which the different parts of our mechanism are secured. The base of each pump-cylinder is bolted to the side Walls 12 of the casting between the ledges 14 14', which partially overlap the sides of each base, although it must be understood that any manner of mounting the pump-cylinders might be resorted to by the skilled mechanic. The crank-arms of the pumps are set ninety degrees apart, as is usual in similar cases, the character of piston employed being of the trunk-piston or plunger type in order to minimize the space taken up. Leading from the discharge ends of the pumps are pipes 15, in the paths of which are introduced check-valves 16 of any approved form past which the air forced by the pumps is driven into a common compressed-air reservoir 17, provided with a regulating air-escape valve 1S, (globe-valve,) by the adjustment of which the air is allowed to escape at any predetermined rate or in any predetermined quantities, the air being delivered to the valve 18 after it has passed the check-valves through the port 19 of the nozzle 19', to which the valve 18 is coupled. The reservoir is secured to the supporting-timbers IOO by a bolt 2O and held rigidly, projecting from the timbers by a pipe-section 21, surrounding the bolt and interposed between the timbers and the base of the cylindrical knob 22, which the pipe embraces. (See Fig. 5.) The pipes 15 tap the chamber of the reservoir 17 from opposite directions, the reservoir having a tubular extension 17, in which operates the hollow cushioning-plunger 23, from the base of which leads a stem 24, passing through the cover or head 17" of the extension. Formed in the peripheral wall of the plunger 23, near the base thereof and adapted to come opposite the part 19, is an air escape or relief port 26, whose function will presently be apparent. Formed with the outer wall of the part 17 isa rib or lug 27, to which is pivoted a bent forked lever 2.8, the short arms` thereof being provided with elongated slots 29, through which operate the opposite ends of a pin 30, passing transversely through the projecting end of the stem 24. Under normal conditions-that is to say, when the elevater is at rest-the long arm of the lever 28 will be in its lowest position,` the plunger 23 under the vcircumstances being forced inwardly sufficiently to allow the port 2.6 to come opposite the port 19. The moment the pumps begin to operate and asufcient pressure of air'accumulates in the reservoir the compressed air will force the plunger 23 and its stem 24 outwardly and raise the lever 2E),` to its highest position. Should the elevatorcage at any time descend to its lowest position, the roller 31, carried by the lugs 32 thereof, will strike the free end of the lever, depressing the same and forcing the wall of the plunger inwardly at first a distance suflicient to close the port 19, preventing the escape of the compressed air within the reser- Voir, and thus utilizing the elasticity of the confined air as a cushioning-buffer for the cage in its descent.` By the time the cage has fully descended and been properly cushioned the plunger 23 will have been driven inwardly far enough to bring the ports 26 and 19 into communication, thus allowing for the full escape of the confined air and the gradual settling of the cage., (See full and dotted position of parts in Figs. 3` and 5.)

From the foregoing the operation of the device will be readily understood. During the ascent of the cage the drum will. be rotated, thus operating the pumps, the regulatingvalve 18 permitting the escape of the air compressed by the pumps at a rate commensurate with the desired speed of the cage. In the descent of the cage this speed is also regulated. Should the pulling-cable 3 break` and the cage be loaded with freight and passengers, the excessive air-pressure accumulated in the reservoir 17 will retard the operation of the pumps, and thus check the descent, i

referred to, the air accumulated behind the pistons would of course momentarily check the reciprocation of the latter and bring the cage to a dead stop, so that the present device serves not only as a regulator, but as a safety appliance. The pumps,u drum, and, in fact, the entire apparatus, with the excep- 1 tion ofthe cable winding about the drum, are

entirely disconnected from theeage, so that it may be applied with very-little reconstruction to cages of existingclevators. While we have shown only one apparatus in the present inst-ance, it is apparent that a duplicate thereof may be employed on the opposite side of the cage. In most cases, however, a single apparatus will sulice. It is lfurther apparentI that many changes might vbe made without departing from the spirit of our invention. For exam-ple, an oil` or water pump or, in fact, any duid-pump can be substituted for the air-pump herein referred to, as is obvious. The opposite ends of the cable each pass betweenl a pair of tion and catalogued by manufacturers of these devices.

Having described our invention, what we claim is,-

1. In an elevator safety appliance, a cage or l car, an air pump or pumps located ata point removed from the, cage, a drum mounted in connection with the pump or pum ps, a cable wound about the drum and having its opposite ends secured to the cage, means for guiding said cable, and intermediate gearing be- IOO IIO

tween the drum and pumps for operating the l latter upon the travel of the cage in either direction, substantially as set forth.

2. In an elevator safetyappliance, a cage or car, an air pump or pumps located at a point removed from the cage, a drum mounted in proximity to the pumps., a cable Wound about the drum and having its opposite ends secured to the bottom and top of the cage repspectively,` sheaves for the cable, and intermediate gearing between the drum and the pumps for operating the latter upon the ltravel of the cage in either direction, substantially as set forth.

3. In an` elevator safety applianee,a cage or car, anu air pump or pumps located at a point removed from the cage or car, a drum mounted in connection with the pumps, intermediate gear mechanism between the drum and pumps, a cable winding about the drum and having its free opposite ends secured respectively to the `upper and lower ends of the car,

IIS

'and a pneumatic buffer for the car or cage supplied with air compressed b v the pumps,

substantially as set forth.

4. In an elevator safety appliance, a cage or car, au air pump or pumps located at a point removed from the cage or car, a dru m mounted in proximity to the pumps, a gear-Wheel carried by the drum, a pinion carried by the shaft of the pumps and meshing with said gear-Wheel, a cable wound about the drum and having its opposite free ends secured respectively to the top and bottom of the cage, sheaves for the cable, a compressed-air reservoir in connection with the pumps, aregulating air-escape valve leading from the reservoir, a reciprocating plunger mounted in the reservoir and having a port adapted to aline with the port of the reservoir leading to the regulating air-escape valve, a bent lever pivoted to the Wall of the reservoir, a pin carried by the projecting end of the plunger and operating in suitable slots formed in the short arm of the bent lever, the long arm of the lever being adapted to be struck by the cage in its descent and momentarily force the plunger inward and prevent the escape of the air from the reservoir, and subsequently permit the escape as the cage settles, substantially as set forth.

5. In an elevator safety appliance, a cage or car, a suitable pump or pumps, an air-reservoir coupled to said pumps, a tubular extension forming a part of the reservoir, a plunger having a hollow portion conned in said extension, and astem projecting through the cover-plate of the extension, a regulating airescape valve leading from the reservoir, a port leading from the latter to the casing of said valve, a port formed in the walls of the plunger and adapted for one of the eXtreme positions to come opposite the first-named port, and intermediate connections between the plunger and cage for operating the former in one direction upon the descent of the cage, the plunger being forced in the opposite direction upon the ascent of the cage, substantially as set forth.

6. In an elevator safety appliance, a cage or car, an air-pum p, a buffer comprising a plunger operated in one direction by the action of the pump during the ascent of the cage, a stern forming a part of the plunger, and suitable devices interposed between the stem and cage and cooperating with the latter in the descent thereof for driving the plunger in the opposite direction, and compressing the air behind the same, substantially as set forth.

7. In an elevator safety appliance, a cage or car, an air pump or pumps, a buffer comprising a plunger operated in one direction by the action of the pump or pumps, a stem form ing a part of said plunger, a lever pivoted in proximity to the stem, and having its short arm coupled movably to the stem, and a long arm normally pointing upward, the free end of the latter being adapted to be struck and depressed by the cage and the air behind the plunger compressed,substan tiall y as set forth.

8. In an elevator safety appliance, a cage or car, a pump or pumps located at a point re moved from the cage, a dru m mounted in connection with the pump or pumps, a cable Wound about the drum and having its opposite ends secured to the cage, means for guiding said cable, and intermediate gearing between the drum and pump or pumps for operating the latter upon the travel of the cage in either direction, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES Gr. GRACEY. ALFRED GFELLER.

Witnesses:

EMIL STAREK, G. L. BELFRY. 

